Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has a carer's policy for its employees; and what other steps his Department has taken to support employees with caring responsibilities.

MoJ offer a range of flexible working options to staff, including term-time working, job shares and compressed hours, to allow staff with caring responsibilities to work in the way that best suits them.

Whilst there is not a specific carer’s policy, support is offered to all staff who have caring responsibilities. MoJ have a staff Carers’ Network for example, which provides guidance and advice to employees within the MoJ family who have caring responsibilities. They do this by signposting to relevant MoJ policies and/or external organisations, and running events for staff to network and share challenges.

The Carers’ Network is also supported by senior Carers Champions who raise the profile of issues facing carers, and Carers’ Week is recognised annually with communications and information to MoJ staff. The internal intranet provides sources of advice for employees and managers, for example how to access the salary sacrifice childcare vouchers scheme, or links to Special Leave policies available, which provide options for paid and unpaid leave for carers.

In October 2017, MoJ was recognised in the Top 30 of the Top Employers for Working Families list, which is based on the comprehensive and highly competitive Working Families’ benchmarking survey. MoJ has an Inclusion and Diversity strategy which strives for all employees to feel supported and to identify barriers to effective working.